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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27807196">Unwavering Truth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sufiyanawrites/pseuds/sufiyanawrites'>sufiyanawrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Our Life: Beginnings &amp; Always (Visual Novel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:40:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>977</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27807196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sufiyanawrites/pseuds/sufiyanawrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You loved your friends and would follow them anywhere.</p>
<p>You also did not handle changes to plans well at all.</p>
<p>But at least at the end of the day before you can fall apart, you know there's always someone who can hold you together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cove Holden/Main Character | Jamie Last (Our Life)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Unwavering Truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Set after Step 3: Hang! In which you did not have a good time.</p>
<p>Me being autistic and having pretty bad social anxiety I picked the choices that I would actually do and was rewarded with Cove comforting me. ;w;</p>
<p><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tzavine/profile">Tzavine</a> helped me proofread!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When you finally reach your room you notice the tremble in your hands. You ignore it in favor of changing out of your beachwear and into pajamas, carelessly dusting sand off your body to the floor as you do so. Normally you would shower after such a trip, but you were drained in more ways than you care to count right now. You sluggishly finish your bedtime ritual and turn out the light, with an added stop by the window to unlatch the lock. Crawling on the bed, you don't bother to get under the covers. Sat in the center of your bed, you wrap your arms tight around your legs and tuck your head against your knees and start to quietly fall apart.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Today had almost been too much for you. Too many changes in plans, too many different unexpected places to go. Too much sound and light, booming in your chest and searing in your eyes. If Cove hadn't shielded your eyes and ears from the fireworks, it really would have been too much to handle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You'd managed to hold it together long enough to hug Miranda and Terri goodbye and offer a small wave to Baxter. You were quiet on the ride home and Cove never minded that much. You tried to tell him you were okay with a smile as you waved goodbye from your front door, but you knew he didn't believe you. You never could ask him directly for comfort, but you knew you'd see him again tonight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You'd wanted more from yourself. To freely have fun with your friends and be spontaneous. To take changes in stride and not balk at the unexpected. But it was simply too much.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The safety you were searching for in the dark of your room doesn't find you even as something else does. Your body is shaking and your mind is static, but you can still hear it. The faint sounds of rattling against the side of your home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cove. Right on time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You don't move from your spot, but Cove hasn't needed your explicit permission to enter in years. You hear the window swing open slowly and just as carefully closed behind him, with consideration to locking it back for you. You're almost able to smile as you feel the bed dip from his weight. He settles in behind you, long legs on either side of your body. A warm hand settles in your hair and your shaking stops. You unwind just enough that he can snake his other arm around your middle, pulling you close to his chest as he leans forward to rest against your back. Only once he's settled fully with his face pressed against your shoulder do you start to let go of the coiled tension in your body.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cove stays quiet, waiting until you're ready, gently brushing his fingers through your hair. Eventually you breathe in deeply and let out a long sigh, letting out some more of your anxieties with it. You let your hold on your legs loosen and pull back enough to rest your chin more comfortably on your knees instead of hiding in them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You sigh again before speaking. "Sorry for acting so childish today."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That gets a small laugh from Cove that you can feel more than you can hear. "If that kind of childishness needs an apology then what in the world do I have to do to make up for all my bad days you've had to put up with?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A smile tugs at your lips. It's true, Cove does end up in a surly mood far more often than you do. But you can't ever blame him, knowing what it's like to hit a wall in your head. You'll be stuck on the other side, wanting to have a good time with loved ones but you just can't reach past it. And he always makes it up to you, even though you're never the one he's upset with.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cove continues softly while you reminisce, "Don't worry about it. I'm here for you. Just like you are for me."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He says it with such conviction that you do smile for real this time. It's just something you both understand as fact, an unwavering truth, even as other uncertainties appear in your lives. It's something you've never questioned, but hearing it said aloud is always like a magic spell. Instantly your shoulders drop and the rest of the extra tension you'd been holding onto melts away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Right away Cove notices and puts his other arm around your middle too, somehow holding you even more securely. "Alright, let's unwrap this present!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Even after your apologies for childishness earlier you groan over-dramatically as he starts to rock you both bodily back and forth while you stubbornly try to hold on to your curled position. He hauls you backwards with a giggle and you lose the battle with your grip and your fake protests, pouting and fighting back your own giggles even as you let him stretch you out on top of him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Deeming his job done, Cove rolls you off to the side and waits patiently while you flip back around to face him. He stays laying down as he scoots in close to study your face. He traces a gentle line between your brows with a fingertip, just where you know they'd been furrowed most of the day. He moves to cup your cheek and rub a thumb beneath your eye. They feel slightly sore. You don't remember crying, but you wouldn't put it past yourself to have shed some tears without noticing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Seemingly satisfied with his inspection, Cove reaches down for your hand and threads his fingers through yours, bringing your entwined hands to rest between you. He smiles softly at you, and you can't help but smile back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"There you are."</p>
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